Reviews for A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter (Walker's American History Series for Y...

The average rating for A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter (Walker's American History Series for Y... based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-03-10 00:00:00 Yvonne Smith I really enjoyed reading about the Pullman Porters. Their story is one of a sad irony. Although they were provided outstanding customer service to passengers; were highly regarded professionally and in their community; and were the faces of Pullman sleeping cars, they were overworked and underpaid, disrespected and disregarded as "less than" by management and were bullied into NOT unionizing for better working conditions. The book said that their wages were kept intentionally low so they could work for tips but they sometimes had to humiliate themselves for these tips. They made less than $75 a month even though they did the most work. The company did not support them against claims of ill treatment by customers. They had it rough but they kept smiling and kept on working. A. Philip Randolph was a champion in unionizing the porters to ensure they had fair wages and better working conditions. Randolph thought that it would be a three year process. However, it turned into a 12-year battle, mostly because of the race of the porters and the power of the Pullman company, which was one of the largest railroad companies in the world. They did eventually win but not without work, sweat and tears. And sometimes blood. This is a good book and highly recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-05-20 00:00:00 Wm Sundstrom It really was a long hard journey. What an inspirational read! Why don't we learn about these landmark cases in school? What a difference it would have made to know that the fight for the Brotherhood helped to usher in the bigger, civil rights movement. A. Philip Randolph's name should be as famous as Dr. King's. I truly feel that I am a greater person having learned what I learned from this book. I'd love to visit the museum one day. Honestly, the only "negative" response that I had was in regards to the exclusion of young black women. The fact stood out more so toward the end of the book when the author went into detail about how the women's auxiliary taught Pullman Porter history along with sponsoring programs like the young porter's groups. That covered the men, wives, and sons. I have so many questions about the girls/young women. I'm sure they existed, although you can't tell from this book, unfortunately.